THE MANDALORIAN: Here's How The Show's Creative Team Kept Baby Yoda A Secret Before The Premiere

THE MANDALORIAN: Here's How The Show's Creative Team Kept Baby Yoda A Secret Before The Premiere

When The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+ last November, everyone was surprised by the arrival of "Baby Yoda." Now, the show's creative team have revealed how they went about keeping his existence secret.

By JoshWilding - Jun 06, 2020 07:06 AM EST
Filed Under: The Mandalorian
Source: ComicBook.com

During an appearance at the ATX Television Festival At Home, The Mandalorian executive producer Jon Favreau admitted that it was a "miracle" the existence of Baby Yoda didn't leak online before the show premiered on Disney+. There were no hints at all about him until those final few seconds of the premiere, and Disney's merchandise team are only now beginning to catch up! 

Reflecting on "Chapter 4" director Bryce Dallas Howard bringing her kids to work with her, Favreau said (via ComicBook.com): "What a miracle that with all the kids on the set and how fixated they were, that the secret never came out that the baby was in the series at all."

"It was a real testament to Bryce that somehow she got her kids not to tell every single person they had ever met about meeting him." Howard, meanwhile, added, "I would remind my kids every day once they were going to school, 'What do we not talk about? Baby!'"

Disney made sure not to send out screeners for The Mandalorian in advance, and missed out on selling Baby Yoda toys over the Christmas period to ensure there were never any leaks. Was that the smartest business decision? Possibly not, but it meant that fans tuning into the Disney+ series for the first time were greeted with something of a rarity these days: a legitimate surprise. 

What are your thoughts on how The Child's existence was kept a secret?

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rAd1
rAd1 - 6/6/2020, 8:06 AM
Miracle indeed, its cool to see that its not "all about the money" and the reveal was truly a surprise. Just a shame with all the casting announcements for season 2 the surprise factor maybe gone.
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 6/7/2020, 1:44 PM
@rAd1 - yeah I think this might be a “one & done” type of secret keeping. Everybody’s going to be expecting the “surprise” for season 2. I really think the could’ve kept Boba Fett a secret though. Everybody clamoring for his return would’ve been mind blown.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 6/6/2020, 8:07 AM
Mainly because they managed to keep this a secret, I really don't think the Ahsoka, Rex, and whoever is gonna make an appearance rumors are true. Those are the secrets they really don't want leaking out
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 6/6/2020, 8:44 AM
She told them that Grandpa would put them in a sequel of Backdraft if they told anyone. When they asked what that was she showed them the movie. And now here we are.
Himura
Himura - 6/6/2020, 2:31 PM
Disney's like "yeahhhh we aint never letting that happen again"
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 6/6/2020, 5:03 PM
And this is why this show resonates. Because they get it. It’s the sense of wonder that makes Star Wars so special. Not massive amounts of CGI trying to mask a lack of story or one-up the previous film. Or cheap gimmicks designed to sell endless amounts of disposable toys. It’s moments. Craft. Not clumsy bombardment of the senses. Perhaps if Kennedy understood that like Favreau does, the sequel trilogy would have actually meant something.
AC1
AC1 - 6/6/2020, 5:09 PM
It's great they went to all that effort to keep the secret, but it was kind of pointless considering the rest of the world had to wait like 6 months to even watch it so we all had it spoiled anyway. Would've loved to have experienced that surprise for myself.
globaltravels
globaltravels - 6/7/2020, 4:48 PM
They kept the secret well hidden because Ruin Johnson and Kathy “the force is female” Kennedy destroyed nearly all interest in anything Star Wars due to the pieces of shit that were The Last Jedi and Solo. No one [frick]ing CARED about The Mandalorian enough to try dig anything up. Now that it’s a huge hit, media outlets and youtubers are desperate to try and dig anything up for clicks.
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